When 23 year old Shohei Ohtani arrived in Major League Baseball in 2018, he was the 2nd best hitter on the team behind a still-healthy Mike Trout (who finished 2nd in MVP that season) and, in only 10 starts, proved he was one of the best pitchers on the team as well.
He hit 22 homers with 61 RBIs and led all pitchers on the Angels with 11 strikeouts per 9 innings.
(Although, perhaps it’s not *that* impressive to be the best player on a team where a guy in the front office was handing out oxys like parking validations.)
He was the 2018 Rookie of the Year.
I was a hater but I had to ride for my Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres.
Since then, Ohtani’s been one of the best hitters on the planet every year, and in 2022, he was one of the best pitchers on the planet at the same time.
But his elbow keeps exploding—preventing him from reaching his potential as both the best hitter and best pitcher simultaneously.
In 6 starts this year, Ohtani’s getting there.
But it didn’t go great for Shohei Monday night against the Twins.
CRUSHED 💥
Byron Buxton demolishes the second pitch he sees from Shohei Ohtani! pic.twitter.com/haT5wYRIK1
— MLB (@MLB) July 22, 2025
Byron Buxton sent the second pitch Shohei threw into a bucket of popcorn.
A guy like me is moping around for the next 9 innings.
I’m going o-fo-4 from the plate—probably never moving the bat from my shoulder, staring off into the distance, with the crowd slowly forming into the faces of my disappointed parents.
This is how Shohei Ohtani responded in the bottom of the first inning:
Shohei Ohtani crushing homers in his sixth pitching start 💪
(via @MLB)
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 22, 2025
Shohei hit a 2-run homer into the parking garage.
Not only did he immediately get his receipt back, but he doubled the score on Byron the first chance he got.
Oh, it’s also important to add that after Shohei gave up the Byron Buxton homer, he struck out the final two batters of the inning.
So he struck out two batters, jogged to the dugout, got his bat, and crushed a 2-run bomb.
Shohei Ohtani is cool as fuck, yo.
He’s a g.
I know he and the Dodgers just dogwalked my Yankees in the World Series but it’s impossible to deny his otherworldly superpowers.
Mookie Betts sucks
Since I can’t mock my guy Shohei, let’s talk about Mookie Betts and his 94 OPS+.
Betts has a 93 wRC+, making him the 128th best hitter in baseball.
He’s on a cute little 2-game hitting streak but prior to that, he was hitless in 3 straight games and has had an 0-for in 8 of the last 10 series.
Once a 3-game series, you can expect Mookie Betts to be an automatic out every time he steps up to the plate.
The Dodgers got back from the All-Star break and were swept by the Brewers.
Sucks.
Because right before the All-Star break they were swept by the Brewers.
And the Giants right before that.
Thankfully, they still lead the NL West by 3.5 games because the Giants fell off a cliff, the Diamondbacks are playing footsies with the Yankees, flirting with sending half their starters to the Bronx and the Colorado Rockies have, like, at most, 4 Major League players on their roster.
But the San Diego Padres are making up ground.
Shohei Ohtani can’t do this alone.
The Dodgers need Mookie Betts to be better than the Trevor Story-ass season he’s putting together so far.
He’s only 32 years old.
He cannot be this washed this soon.
Although, his hairline says otherwise…
#PrayForMookie
Thanks for reading.
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